Luxe sneaker brand Golden Goose’s new HQ is a creative, business and wellbeing hub

To mark the 20th anniversary of Golden Goose, CEO Silvio Campara opened a new Milan HQ and brand home on via Ercole Marelli, adjacent to the city’s Olympic Village.

Designed in collaboration with Milan studio ML Architettura, the project was ambitious and audacious, taking on the renovation of two old foundry buildings in the formerly industrial district. Recently completed, the new headquarters, Campara explains, have been designed not just as a creative and business hub, but also as an environment for the wellbeing of Golden Goose’s employees (or its ‘Golden Family’ as the CEO likes to call them).

Golden Goose: ‘building success stories every day’

The HQ is intended as a place where everyone can feel relevant. ‘The architecture itself underlines the strength of the collective and the possibility of being able to express one’s ideas. It’s an authentic place, perfect in its imperfection, where you can build collective and individual experiences and success stories every day,’ says Campara. ‘A house that carries within it the history of the brand through refined architectural elements.’

Instead of conventional offices, a series of rooms is themed and tailored to specific requirements, the decor and details linked to important moments in the company’s two-decade history. The Dream Room, for instance, is designed in the image and likeness of the Golden Goose LABs; sneakers hang from the ceilings, and walls are lined with distressing machines. Printed on the walls is the Golden Manifesto, ‘a reminder to never lose sight of our values and what we believe in’, says Campara.

There are clear Venetian influences in the building’s design too, a celebration of the brand’s heritage, roots and the city of its original HQ. ‘At the building’s entrance, you’ll see metal carpentry characterised by V-shaped pillars, also present in our original headquarters in Marghera, Venice,’ says Campara.

‘The floor was created by setting 6,300 stars made of Carrara marble, recalling the technique used for historic Venetian terraces and for the mosaic design created by architect Carlo Scarpa in the Olivetti store in Venice. This space is illuminated by an expanse of lamps inspired by those of the Met Breuer in New York, a museum near our Madison Avenue flagship store.’

Wander the corridors to observe prominent, apparently significant numbers on the doors of workshops and meeting rooms, each digit telling its own story and demanding explanation. ‘Room 750, for example, identifies the number of employees at the time of opening of the new HQ,’ says Campara. ‘Room 193 recalls the perimeter in millimetres of the golden star applied on our sneakers.’

Other rooms? Room 0307 refers to the birth year of the Golden Goose brand’s key icons: boots and the ‘Chiodo’ jacket in 2003; Super-Star sneakers in 2007. Room 31914 is the number of kilometres that separate the Sydney store from the Hawaii one. Room 6300 – the Carrara marble stars laid by hand on the reception’s floor. And 231200 is simply the Golden Goose brand’s date of birth.

Golden Goose styles itself as a collective founded on a passion for all things that are perfectly imperfect, authentic, and unique. A combination of high-quality construction, the distinctive star logo and the famous ‘lived-in’ signature of the shoes have become the distinctive features of Golden Goose products throughout the years. The brand champions artisanal craftsmanship and Made In Italy manufacturing.

Now looking ahead to its 25th anniversary, Golden Goose is a design-led, future-facing, sustainably-minded concern. Part of the Milan building’s restaurant, for instance, is reserved for a hydroponic garden, its harvest contributing to dishes on the daily menu. An outdoor area is also dedicated to an eco-mobility park, replete with e-bikes and electric fitness machines available for the Golden Family employees.

‘Stars who have a story to tell that is relevant and empowering for their community and others.

INFORMATION

goldengoose.com